Bearing Your Cross

“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:27. “So he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away. And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha.” John 19:16-17. Bearing your cross can really only mean one thing: to help with your own crucifixion. A person who understands the necessity of being crucified will gladly do this.

Only hopelessly incorrigible criminals are crucified. Who wants to carry the cross onto which he himself is to be nailed!? Only a person who sees himself as a hopeless criminal according to the flesh and is, therefore, thankful that he can get rid of himself according to the flesh. Everyone who realizes that his “self” is the only thing in the way of his happiness and progress will gladly bear his cross.